Google launches Nexus 9, first tablet to run Lollipop

Published February 05, 2015

With its new Nexus 9, Google offers consumers a tablet just small enough to hold in one hand, yet large enough for getting some work done. And “work” might be the key word here. While our first look showed that the Nexus 9 can be a fun tablet, it’s also obvious that Google wants people to take it a bit more seriously.

The Nexus 9 starts at $400 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version. It’s also available with 32GB of storage for $480, or $600 for a version with broadband access. You can buy the Nexus 9 today.

Here are my first impressions.

Look and feel. Despite the almost-9-inch screen, the Nexus 9 will still just fit in one hand. It has a metal frame, so it feels sturdy, and a brushed back that’s pleasant to hold. It weighs just under 15 ounces and is 0.29 inches thick.

I do have a few quibbles with the design. The first few times I turned the tablet on, I found myself pressing the camera lens, which sticks out a bit from the back. Also, I’d prefer a hardware button to lock the screen instead of a software setting, but even Apple has gone in that direction with the iPad Air 2. The sound buttons are a little hard to press.

I like the keyboard. It supports Swype, which is something I miss on the iPad. It’s also got a great stable of emojis.

Learn all you need to know about tablets with our buying guide.

Display. This is where Google places the emphasis on work rather than play. The Nexus 9’s display has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which makes it more square-looking than many other Android tablets, which generally use a 16:9 aspect ratio. A 4:3 display shines if you’re viewing a wide spreadsheet. Web browsers also fit better into that shape screen, as do text documents. Apple has used a 4:3 aspect ratio since the launch of its first iPad.

A 16:9 screen is better for HD TV shows, which are shot in 16:9 and so fit better into that shape. On a 4:3 display, you’ll see black bars above and below the video. You can easily switch to a full screen, but you might lose some content on the sides of the picture.

Display resolution is 2048x1536. That’s a bit less than the similarly-sized Amazon Fire HDX 8.9, which has a resolution of 2560x1600. The Nexus 9's screen was bright and crisp, and text in a book was easy to read.

Performance. The Nexus 9 performed very well using the 3D Mark benchmark, and the gameplay was smooth. Google says battery life should be 9.5 hours when browsing on Wi-Fi. We’ll do further performance testing, including battery tests, for our full Ratings.

Lollipop. The Nexus 9 is Google’s first tablet to run the latest version of Android, called Lollipop. For more on what you get with Lollipop, see “5 reasons you should jump on Android’s good ship Lollipop.”

Bottom line. The Nexus 9 is a bit of a departure from business-as-usual for Google. It’s a new size, a different type of display, and it has a tad more emphasis on business. The price is about what you’d expect for a tablet this size. We’ll have more to say once we’ve fully tested the Nexus 9. Meanwhile, take a look at how other tablets fare in our Ratings.

—Donna Tapellini

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/google-launches-nexus-9-first-tablet-to-run-lollipop